Stockholm
by DPRRluvJ13MM
Summary: Even after becoming a Guardian, Jack still feels alone and unloved. The only other person who could possibly understand that kind of loneliness is the one that captured Jack and seeks to destroy him.
1. The Room

"Are your eyes closed?" North asked.

"Yes, they're closed," Jack said with a chuckle as North led him down the hallway.

Usually when Jack wasn't busy making snow days for the children of the world he would often hang out at North's workshop and just watch the man work, not before freezing some elves and messing with the yetis first of course.

Jack tapped his staff on the ground and a created a sheet of ice very close to where a few elves were walking. Jack chuckled when a few of them slipped and fell into each other like dominos. North had been busy overlooking the yetis work and making sure the elves didn't break any of the toys they were testing. Jack tapped North's left shoulder and then skipped over to the man's right side when he turned around. North turned to the right when he heard Jack's laughter. The Guardian's eyes immediately lit up at the sight of Jack and North grabbed Jack's shoulders, picked him up off the ground, and kissed him on both cheeks. This had become a regular occurrence, but Jack still flinched every time North picked him up. He appreciated the gesture, though, so he never complained.

"I have something to show you!" North said. "Come with me!"

As the drew closer to their destination, North had asked Jack to close his eyes. North took Jack's hand to make sure the boy didn't bump into anything. When Jack heard the sound of a door opening, North finally said:" Alright, open your eyes!"

Jack's face twisted up when he saw that North had brought him into a bedroom.

"Uh…"

"What do you think?" North asked smiling wide, his eyes shining bright with excitement.

"Uh." Jack looked around. The room was about half the size of North's office. There was one window on the opposite wall from where Jack stood and in the corner was a bed with a red comforter and a few dark red pillows. There was a small wooden nightstand beside the bed on the left wall and on the right wall was a wooden wardrobe. It was a nice room but there wasn't anything particularly special about it.

"Uh, it's nice. It's a nice room," Jack said finally.

"So you like it?" North asked.

"Yeah, I mean, you've got a nice room," Jack said.

North laughed. "Is not my room! It yours!"

Jack's head jerked and he arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"Well, if you want it to be. I figured you could come stay here when you have time off. Just relax for a while," North said.

Jack's jaw dropped. He tried to say something, anything, but he could think of nothing to say so he just stupidly opened and closed his mouth. He looked around the room again. His eyes landed on the bed.

"Wh-wait…this is-this is for me?" Jack asked.

"Yes," North said.

"This is-this is…_my_ room?" Jack asked.

"All yours! I left the walls bare so you could decorate however you want. If you want to have icicles hanging from the ceiling, go right ahead," North said.

"Wait," Jack said holding out his hand both to get North to be quiet and also as a way of keeping himself balanced. He had suddenly become light headed and the room was spinning and he was having a hard time processing what was going on. "So this is my room? I can come here whenever I want?"

"Yes," North said.

"I can come here and sleep here?" Jack asked.

"If you want to sleep you can sleep. If you just want to sit and relax and read a book you can. Whatever you want! Is your room!" North said.

"So-so I _live_ here? Like, I can come here whenever I want to?" Jack asked.

"You come here whenever you want to anyway, I figured I'd give you a room all to yourself," North said.

Jack's eyes crossed and he felt like he was sinking inside of himself. He couldn't believe it. He had gone so long flying from place to place and never really settling anywhere. The concept of having a place to call home was so foreign to him. Well, not entirely, he had always referred to Burgess as his 'home' but he had never had a home with a roof over his head or a bed to sleep in. Whenever Jack was tired, because he didn't _have_ to sleep like mortals did, he would sleep in or under a tree or behind a building. He hadn't ever slept on a bed before. He had sat on Jamie's bed occasionally when he went to visit but Jack had never laid down on it.

North's face dropped when he saw how uncomfortable Jack was. "You don't have to, you know?"

Jack looked up at North, his eyes widened in horror.

"I mean, it was just an offer. Only if you want it, don't feel like you have to take it," North said.

"No!" Jack surprised both North and himself at his outburst. "No, I mean…but I can have it, right?"

"Only if you want it," North said.

A smile cracked across Jack's face and he let out an exasperated gasp.

"I just figured you might like to have place to stay when you're not busy but if you…" North was cut short when Jack threw his arms around North's neck and hugged him as tight as he could. North wrapped his arms around Jack's waist as Jack cried softly into the crook of North's neck.

"Thank you," Jack whispered through his tears.

"You're welcome, Jack," North said smiling.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me," Jack whispered.

"I think I do," North whispered.

Jack laughed and wiped the tears from his eyes as North set him down. North put his hands on Jack's shoulders and waited for Jack to look him in the eye. "I'll give you some time alone, alright?"

"Yeah," Jack breathed, his smile wavering as he tried to hold back sobs. It was embarrassing enough that North was seeing him all teary eyed.

North smiled and wiped away the tears from one side of Jack's face before he stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Jack had dropped his staff when he went to hug North. He picked it up and set it against the wall before jumping into his new bed. He crawled under the covers and nestled his face deep into one of the pillows. Jack wasn't capable of getting warm. He could feel warmth when it was there but it would only brush the surface of his body; he himself would not warm up internally. So Jack didn't pull the covers tighter around his body to get warm, he just liked the feeling of having something wrapped around him. He let himself sink into the deep soft pillow and mattress and snuggled into the comforter and smiled and laughed like an idiot as he hugged one of the other pillows close to his body. He wiped away a few more tears but after a while, he just let them fall onto the pillow he was cuddling with.

Jack laughed and rolled onto his back. He looked up at the blank ceiling. He didn't care that there was nothing covering the ceiling or hanging from it. All he cared was that there was a roof over his head. All he cared was that North had just giving him a room all his own without ever asking Jack in advance. North had just decided one day that he was going to give Jack a room in his home. North had just decided one day that he wanted to share his home with Jack. It seemed too good to be true. Jack shook his head, rolled over, and buried his face in the pillow he had under his head.

He didn't want to think too much about it. What if it was too good to be true? What if there was some ulterior motive behind all of this? Jack squeezed the pillow tighter to his chest and pulled the covers over his head.

"Don't think about it," he told himself. "It's not like that. He does care about you. He does care about you."

He squinted to keep the tears at bay but it was a futile attempt. Jack kept repeating it over and over again "He does care about you. He does care about you." but he could not bring himself to believe it. For centuries, the Guardians hadn't cared about him. The Sandman had interacted with Jack before he had been chosen, but it was always nighttime somewhere in the world and Sandy would have to leave almost as soon as he came and years would often go by before Jack ever saw him again. Jack told himself it was because Sandy was busy but something in the back of his mind would tell him it was because the Sandman had forgotten all about him or worse, Sandy just didn't want to be around Jack. Jack had often cried on Sandy's shoulder and told him about his problems and Jack was sure he'd annoyed him with it.

Jack squeezed his eyes tighter, squeezed the pillow tighter, curled into a tight ball, ground his teeth hissing that North did care, that Sandy did care, that the Guardians all cared about him, that anyone cared about him but he couldn't bring himself to honestly believe it. Jack dug his face deeper into his pillow so that no one could hear him cry. He wanted desperately to run out the door, find North and beg him to promise that he cared. Beg him to promise that there was no other reason for his gift other than wanting Jack to be happy. Beg him to promise he hadn't given Jack the room just to keep an eye on Jack and make sure he wasn't screwing anything up because Jack had messed up Easter before and North probably didn't want Jack ruining Christmas too.

But Jack couldn't go to North. He didn't want to whine and cry and bother North. He wasn't going to risk looking like a selfish needy brat in front of North.

Jack rolled around trying to get comfortable while still clinging one of his pillows to his chest. He wept silently until he finally fell asleep.

_I have dozens upon dozens of plot bunnies for Rise of the Guardians, but this Is the fanfiction that I seem to be making the most progress with (God, I hope I didn't just jinx it by saying that lol) so I decided I'd upload the first chapter. I currently have the first five chapters finished, so what I'm going to try and do is update the next chapter every time I finish a new one (for example, I'll upload chapter 2 as soon as I finished chapter 6)._

_Hope you enjoy!_

_-Alex_


	2. The Cage

North woke Jack up the next day.

"Rise and shine!" North chimed shaking Jack awake.

"Eh-huh-what?" Jack shook his head and blinked sleepily.

"Did you sleep well?" North asked.

"Uh, yeah," Jack said. He had an almost dreamless sleep. Almost dreamless because he didn't have any vivid images running through his head but at one point he could swear he heard a familiar voice whispering to him in the darkness. Jack could have sworn it sounded like Pitch trying to tell him that he was worthless and just a waste of space for the Guardians and other horrible things that ate away at Jack's heart until there was nothing left but a big black hole.

North sat on the edge of the bed and watched as Jack pushed himself upright. North reached out and cupped the side of Jack's face in his massive hand. His eyebrows furrowed as he noted the dark circles under Jack's eyes. Jack had always had dark circles under his eyes but there was something different about them now. They seemed darker and his eyes seemed puffier.

"Are you sure you slept well? You don't look so good, Jack."

Jack felt his stomach sink. He shook his head and laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just…"

His eyes downcast. He couldn't think of anything to say.

"Are you still tired?" North asked.

Jack wanted to say yes but shook his head 'no'.

"Will you be alright to go to work today? Or go have fun, I guess I should say," North said, humming a laugh.

Jack gave a small smile but continued to look down at the comforter. He was still clinging one of the pillows to his chest.

North gently lifted Jack's chin so that they were face to face, eyes locked. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Jack wanted to say yes. He wanted to break down and cry into North's arms and tell him every horrible, self-loathing thought that had ever crossed his mind. He wanted North to give him condolences and reassure Jack that he was okay and that he was loved and that he had a family now and that this family loved him unconditionally. He wanted the other Guardians to come and hear him cry and spill his soul out for all of them to see but for none of them to judge him and for all of them to give him one big bone-crushing group hug and reassure him that this wasn't ridiculous or childish of him to want.

Jack shook his head 'no'.

North nodded and sighed. "Alright, I guess I'll see you later then?"

Jack forced a smile and nodded.

"Alright," North patted Jack on the shoulder. "Go have some fun, okay?"

"Yeah," Jack said.

North stood up and Jack followed close behind, almost forgetting to put the pillow back on the bed. Jack grabbed his staff and slung it over his shoulder before bouncing out the door and taking off. North waved but Jack didn't see it in time; he was already gone.

Jack soared through the sky until he reached an area of the world that was nighttime. He didn't feel like playing at the moment. He didn't want to start a snowball fight or cause mischief (not that he would've been allowed to anyway. Being a Guardian kind of put a restriction on the whole mischievous thing). All Jack wanted to do was hide.

Not forever, just for now.

Right now, Jack was still shaken from hearing Pitch's voice echo in his head the previous night. He was still trying to get over the initial shock of being offered a place to live. He wanted to go back into his room and curl up under the covers and bury his face in his pillow again but he had a job to do and it was bad enough that he wasn't even doing it. If he had stayed in his room, North would've accused him of being lazy or slacking off and might've taken the room away from him.

Jack rolled his eyes and hit his staff against his forehead. How stupid was he? Did he honestly believe that North would just take away his bedroom because he wasn't feeling good enough to do his job?

Yes.

It was nighttime in Burgess and Jack found himself sitting by the pond he had once considered his 'home'. The pond wasn't frozen but it would be soon. It was almost October and the air was much chiller than it was the last time Jack had visited Burgess.

Jack looked past the pathway that lead up to Jamie's house. Jack considered going to Jamie and talking to him but he quickly squashed that idea with bitter laughter. It was nighttime and Jamie needed his sleep; Jack wasn't going to wake Jamie up so that he could complain about his problems. Also, as much as he loved Jamie and wanted to believe that Jamie would love Jack unconditionally, Jamie was only nine/ten years old and he wouldn't want to listen to the angst ridden woes of a 318 year old winter spirit. Hell, no one, no matter what their age would want to hear that! Jack was even getting sick of hearing his own pessimistic thoughts spinning around in his head.

Jack sat by the pond and dipped his feet in the water. He laid down on his back and looked up at the stars. Tonight was a Moonless night but Jack didn't particularly mind that. Even now that he was a Guardian, the Man in the Moon still didn't talk to him. Jack didn't want to hate the Moon since he had saved him from his watery grave and if it hadn't been for him, the Guardians would probably still be ignoring Jack. However, the perpetual silence and the knowledge that the Man in the Moon _could_ talk to him made Jack angry and resentful and lonelier than ever.

Jack closed his eyes and tried to think of something else. He forced himself to think of snowball fights and other fun things he could do for the kids. Jack still didn't have many believers, but thanks to Jamie and his friends telling other kids at school who then spread the word to people they knew in other parts of the world, Jack was at least getting more recognition so when he did visit other parts of the world there would always be a few children here and there who could see him.

Jack thought of all the kids smiling as they played in the snow having snowball fights, going sledding, making snow angels. The thought of children's faces lighting up at the sight of snowfall cheered Jack up considerably. He decided he'd wait a little longer, think of some fun new ideas he could try with the kids before he'd head out to actually start playing.

Jack stood up, wiped some grass off the back of his hoodie, and started walking along the path that lead to Jamie's house. He thought he'd frost over Jamie's bedroom window just to let Jamie know he was there, that he was always looking out for his first believer.

With no moon in the sky, the woods were considerably darker than usual. Shadows intertwined with each other and tangled Jack up in them until he was completely encased in darkness.

When Jack took the next few steps, his feet made contact with rough stone instead of soft dirt. That wasn't right… Jack took a step back but he still felt the stone floor. He took a few steps forward and held out his hand only to make contact with a stone pillar rather than a wooden tree trunk. Jack kept one hand on the wall as he continued walking so that he wouldn't bump into anything. He squinted when he finally saw some light ahead. Jack moved towards the light, one hand still on the stone wall, the other gripping his staff.

Jack felt a horrible sinking feeling as though his whole body was being hollowed out as the light revealed the silhouettes of metal cages hanging from the ceiling.

"No," Jack whispered.

"Hello, Jack," came a familiar voice.

Jack's hand left the wall and clutched the upper half of his staff. He pointed it in the direction of Pitch's voice and shards of ice shot out of the hook end of Jack's staff like lightning. Pitch's laughter echoed throughout the halls and vibrated inside of Jack's head. Jack brought his hands to his ears but Pitch's voice just got louder inside his mind.

"Haven't seen you in a while. How's life as a Guardian?" Pitch asked.

Jack's eyes darted this way and that but he didn't see Pitch anywhere.

"I would've brought you here sooner, but I was still trying to fight off my night mares." Jack could hear the anger and frustration in Pitch's voice when he brought up his minions turning against him in his moment of weakness. Still, Pitch made himself sound as playful as possible. "So how does the place look? Last time you were here my floor was a mess with children's memory boxes and I had a bunch of noisy fairies fluttering about in their cages. Hmm, it's much quieter now."

To fill the empty space, Pitch filled the room with the sound of his laughter. Jack ran up the stairs and found himself standing in front of Pitch's globe. The lights representing all the children who still believed in the Guardians gave Jack a small bit of comfort until Pitch stepped out from behind the globe. Jack held his staff up, ready to defend himself. Pitch smirked and arched his brow.

"Is that any way to treat your host, Jack?" Pitch asked, feigning hurt. "Here, why don't you take a seat."

Jack was lifted abruptly by a shadow that forced him into one of the higher cages. As the cage door slammed, Jack realized he had dropped his staff. He moved forward to push the cage open when Pitch materialized in front of him, holding the door shut as he locked it.

"There. You comfy?" Pitch asked as he tossed the keys in the air, catching them before they could fall.

"LET ME OUT!"

"Indoor voice, Jack," Pitch said, holding a slender finger to his lips.

"LET ME OUT NOW!" Jack shouted as Pitch dissolved into the shadows.

"Why?" Pitch's voice echoed. "Why should I let you out?"

Jack looked out the side of the cage to see Pitch by the globe. Pitch leaned down and picked up Jack's staff. Jack stiffened, mentally pleading that Pitch would break his staff again.

He didn't. Pitch simply held it behind his back and looked up at Jack. "Well? Are you going to give me an answer?"

Jack's eyes narrowed. He knew that no matter what answer he gave to Pitch, the Boogeyman would simply laugh in his face and come up with some reason as to why he wouldn't let Jack go.

"Does it matter?" Jack asked.

Pitch hummed. "I suppose not."

"What do you want with me?" Jack asked.

"What do you think?" Pitch asked slyly.

"I'm not working with you if that's what you want."

"Oh, please, Jack. I don't want you on my side anymore! You already made it clear that you weren't willing to take me up on my offer and instead joined the Guardians. How's that working out for you, by the way? How many believers do you have?"

Jack looked away for a moment until Pitch spoke again.

"Let's see, shall we?" Pitch snapped his fingers and the lights on the globe started to go out. There were a few dozen scattered about, mostly in North America. From where Jack was hanging, he could see at most thirty lights. "Looks to me like it's a little under fifty. Oh, less than fifty children believe in you. And without their belief in you, you'll cease to exist."

Jack's eyes widened. He gripped the bars and pressed his face up against the side of the cage, bearing his teeth. "They're not going to stop believing in me just because you keep me here!"

"Oh, but they will if I keep you here long enough. If you don't show up to bring them snow days and snowball fights, they'll start to lose faith in you. They'll start to think that maybe you were just some crazy dream and doubt that you even existed in the first place. And by the time these children reach their teens years, they'll move on with their lives and forget about you completely and by then, you'll be nothing more than 'just an expression' and it won't matter to you anymore because you'll no longer exist." Pitch laughed deep in the back of his throat. "Not so _fun_ being a Guardian, is it Jack?"

"Joining you wouldn't have been any better," Jack said.

"At least if you had joined me you wouldn't have to worry about children believing in you. I gain my power from fear and whether or not people associate fear with me, there will always be fear in the world," Pitch said, circling the globe.

"If you don't need people to believe in you in order to have power, why'd you…?" Jack began.

"Why did I try to eradicate belief in the Guardians and get children to believe in me?" Pitch asked suddenly disappearing into the shadows below. His voice echoed, low and dangerous, in Jack's ears. "Why did you want children to believe in you so badly? You could still give them snow days and put smiles on their faces without them ever knowing you were there, but that wasn't enough for you. You wanted recognition. You wanted to be noticed, to be seen, for people to acknowledge your existence. Well, that's what I wanted!" Pitch's face was suddenly an inch away from Jack's and Jack lunged back, hitting his head against the top of the cage.

"I wanted recognition for the fear I inflicted. I was tired of hiding under beds and being nothing more than a shadow on the wall so I plagued their minds with nightmares about the Boogeyman who was always waiting right around the corner waiting, waiting until you were too late and…." Pitch suddenly swung his arm forward and banged his fist against the bars of the cage. Jack flinched and Pitch laughed demonically, his laugh growing louder and louder until Jack couldn't handle it and covered his ears.

Even with his ears covered, Jack could hear Pitch's voice ring loud and clear in the back of his head. "Are you scared, Jack? I thought you said you weren't afraid of me."

"I'm not," Jack said. He opened his eyes to see that Pitch was no longer there.

"Really?"

Jack could feel Pitch's breath on the back of his neck. Jack jumped and hit his head on the metal bars. "You seem pretty frightened to me."

Jack lurched his body forward and banged his fist against the bars where Pitch's face was peaking through. Pitch moved back, eyes wide, one hand quickly jumping over where his heart would be. Once Pitch realized Jack was still looking at him, his hand slide down his front to straighten himself out. He would not show any signs of weakness in front of the boy.

"Let me out!"

"Uh, no," Pitch said.

Jack noticed Pitch was still holding his staff. "Let me out and give me my staff back!"

"Or what? You'll bang against the bars again? Oh, will you throw a snowball at me?" Pitch said pretending to be scared before pulling a 'Are you kidding me?' face.

"I could. I don't need my staff to do that," Jack said.

"Maybe not, but you do need it if you want to do any real damage to me," Pitch said holding the staff out for Jack to see. Jack reached through the bars to try and grab it but Pitch pulled it back before Jack could even touch it with the tips of his fingers.

Pitch smirked and spun the staff around in his hand before slipping back into the shadows.

"Pitch! Let me out!" Jack called into the darkness.

He knew it was useless; Pitch wasn't just going to give into Jack's demands like that. Still, Jack couldn't think of anything else to do. He couldn't open the door to the cage and Pitch was right about him not being able to do any serious damage without his staff.

So Jack called after Pitch again: "Pitch!"

Pitch didn't answer. He didn't materialize in front of or behind Jack or anywhere. Pitch didn't show up.

"Pitch!" Jack yelled again.

Still nothing.

"PITCH!"

Nothing. Just darkness. Stillness. Jack was alone. It took a moment for it to sink in but Jack was alone. He had no means of escape. He had no means of contacting the Guardians. He was stuck here.

"_PIIIIIITCH!_"

Nothing.


	3. Nightmares

Jack wasn't sure how much time had passed already but it felt like about a week. He had passed the time staring at the globe, counting the lights. He would always lose count or he would start to feel a lump form in his throat whenever he got past fifty, remembering how he himself had little over thirty believers, and would lean back in the cage and cry. He didn't cry loud though, he didn't want Pitch to hear.

Whenever Jack started feeling upset or hopeless, he would think of Jamie. He wasn't sure why thinking of Jamie made him feel better, after all, Jamie was probably going to forget all about Jack soon if he hadn't already. Still, the thought of Jamie smiling up at him made Jack feel better. Jack had visited Jamie a few times since becoming a Guardian but the visits were always brief since the weather had started getting warmer and Jack had other places to be. Whenever he did visit Jamie, though, he was met with a big smile, bright eyes, and hug around the waist. Jamie hugged Jack as tight as he could and Jack loved the feeling of Jamie's little fingers gripping the back of his hoodie trying desperately to hold Jack tighter as if he were afraid the Guardian would slip away at any moment. Jack wrapped his arms around himself and gripped his sides. He closed his eyes and pretended Jamie was hugging him. He began muttering things as if he were talking to Jamie. He balled one of his hands into a fist and gripped his opposite shoulder. He rested his cheek against his fist and imagined that he was resting his cheek against Jamie's head. He kissed the backside of his hand and whispered to 'Jamie' that everything was alright and that he'd never leave again.

The thoughts of spending time with Jamie only sustained Jack for so long before one day, Jack fell fast asleep and had a horrible nightmare that he waited outside Jamie's house for hours before finally going into the boys room only to find that Jamie had stopped believing in him. Jack stood horrorstricken as Jamie walked through him over and over again. Jack woke up when he heard maniacal laughter ringing throughout the underground lair.

"_PITCH!?"_

No response. Nothing.

Jack tried to fall asleep again. He tried to convince himself that Jamie still believed in him but he continued to have nightmares that they boy stopped believing. If in the nightmares Jamie did still believe, Jack would always do or say something to make Jamie angry or uncomfortable or afraid of Jack. In the nightmares, Jack would accidentally break Jamie's favorite toy or call him a nickname that made Jamie cross his arms, turn away from Jack, and not talk to him for the rest of the night. Jack would try to say he was sorry and suddenly break down into a sobbing mess trying desperately to explain to Jamie that he needed him! He needed him because he was alone and scared and he needed a friend. Jamie would just stare at him, confused and uncomfortable. He would try to get Jack to play a game because "maybe that'll make you feel better". But Jack would continue crying and Jamie wouldn't want to be around Jack because he was getting all upset over nothing. Jack would then scream at Jamie to at least try to understand, accidentally releasing shards of ice that exploded from his center and cut Jamie across the face. Jamie would scream and cry and Jack would try to apologize but Jamie would curl into a ball and cower in fear. He wouldn't speak for fear or provoking Jack and no matter what Jack said, Jamie would still be terrified of him.

Jack would wind up flying to the Sandman or North's workshop or Tooth's Palace or Bunny's warren or wind up somewhere where all of the Guardians were assembled. Jack would cry to them and tell them what he did and they would beret him for harming a child. He was a terrible Guardian. He wasn't doing his job right. How dare he hurt a child like that! Jack tried to explain to them that it was an accident and the Guardians would tell him that he needed to learn to control his emotions and not to dump all of his problem on other people, especially not a kid!

Jack woke up crying one night and saw he was completely encased in darkness. There was no light anywhere save the tiny lights coming from the globe below his cage.

He wanted to call out for Pitch again. It would be useless, but he wanted to try. He opened his mouth, ready to yell, but he didn't. He knew his voice would get lost in the darkness and that no one would respond. And if anyone did respond, what would the response be? Pitch would probably attack him from out of nowhere. Jack shut his mouth and curled into a ball.

He heard footsteps below him but didn't call out. He kept quiet and listened as the footsteps grew louder and louder and then became softer and softer until they finally disappeared altogether and Jack was alone again.

Jack continued to have horrible, vivid nightmares of being alone or disappointing his friends. They would become more vivid and more real each night and Jack was almost convinced that they had actually happened. He was almost convinced that Jamie had stopped believing in him and that the Guardians had shut him out completely and that the Man in the Moon had chosen a new Guardian, someone Jack had never heard of, someone better than Jack who was perfect in every way and who never angered children or the Guardians and one day when Jack had tried to bust into the bedroom North had given him, Jack found this new Guardian sleeping in his bed. Jack was almost convinced that he had tried to bust into North's offices only to have the yetis standing there, waiting to throw him out. Before they did, North walked in, arms crossed, and told Jack that he was never really a Guardian.

"We only needed you that one time. You served your purpose, now we don't need you anymore. Leave us alone, Jack! You're not one of us!"

And then the yetis thrust Jack out the window into the icy tundra of the North Pole where Jack would fall down a chasm and he would wake up from his dream before he could hit the bottom.

But he always woke up. Even when encased in complete darkness, Jack knew he was awake and all the nightmares were just some illusion that Pitch had created. It helped that some nights he could hear Pitch barking orders to his night mares in the distance. It was strangely reassuring hearing Pitch's voice; knowing that he, that _someone_, was there, despite how infuriated he sounded.

"Back in line! I said stay!"

Jack could hear the night mares whinny and heard a snap; something that sounded like sand smashing against the wall. The night mares made horrified moans and there was another crash of sand against stone.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! I AM YOUR MASTER! _YOU_ OBEY _ME_!"

Another crash.

Jack felt the air in his lungs deflate and he curled into himself.

"NOOO!" Pitch roared.

Another crash. More whinnies. Jack's teeth chattered.

"I CREATED YOU AND I CAN JUST AS EASILY GET RID OFF YOU! NOW _BACK IN LINE!_" There was a quiver in his voice. He was losing control of himself and the night mares.

He sounded pathetic and broken down. It was actually kind of heartbreaking. Jack still remembered the few times he had seen Pitch truly vulnerable. He looked so small, defeated. As much as he hated Pitch, Jack couldn't help but feel sympathy for the Boogeyman.

The nights dragged on. The nightmares kept coming. One night, Jack decided that maybe it all was real. It was easier to think that then to hold on to some hope that maybe the Guardians knew he was missing and were coming to look for him because they really did love him. When there was light in the lair, Jack would stare blankly and wait for the Guardians, any one of them, to appear and break him out of his cage and carry him off to his bedroom where he'd be safe and sound. It never happened. Night after night it never happened.

One night, Jack was resting his head against the cold, metal bars and noticed the night mares below him. He wondered how often they stood under his cage, feeding on his fear as he slept. Jack felt so weak, he wasn't even scared anymore. Even with all the nightmares plaguing him, Jack just didn't have it in him to care. Let the night mares have their way with him, he had nothing left. He was alone. He had no one. Jack squeezed his eyes shut as a single tear pushed its way through Jack's eyelid and trickled down his face onto his chapped lips. That was probably the only tear he had left in him, he had cried so many nights.

Worn down and defeated as he was, there must have been some sliver of fear left in Jack for the night mares to suddenly get riled up. The bucked and whinnied and one of the night mares even began to charge up at Jack.

Suddenly, Pitch emerged from the shadows and grabbed a lock of the mare's sandy mane. "No! Easy there, girl. Leave him. He'll get what's coming to him eventually."

The mare turned to Pitch and began sniffing him. Pitch shoved the mare's face away and growled at it fiercely. The mare bowed it's head and trotted off.

Jack grabbed onto one of the bars and weakly pulled himself into an upright position. "Pitch…" his voice was raspy and his throat was tight. "Please…"

"What's that, Jack? I can't here you," Pitch said holding a hand to his ear.

"Please let me out," Jack rasped.

"I'm sorry, hang on," Pitch said as he slipped into the shadows. He reappeared sitting atop one of the cages closest to Jack. Pitch gripped the chain suspending the cage in the air, crossed his legs, and leaned over to get a better look at Jack. "Say that again." He grinned maliciously.

"Please let me go!" Jack's voice cracked and ripped apart as he tried to speak.

Pitch smirked. "No."

"Please!"

"Why do you want to leave so bad, Jack? It's not like there's anything out there for you. You've probably lost most of your believers by now. The Guardians haven't noticed you've been gone and it's not like they need you anyway. You were chosen by the Man in the Moon to help defeat me, right? Well," Pitch clapped his hands sarcastically, anger and resentment festering and flaring behind his eyes. "You succeeded in that. But now they don't need you anymore. You've served your purpose to them and now they'll go back to doing their work just like they always have, _without you_!"

Jack's heart sank. He couldn't tell if Pitch was just playing on Jack's fear of rejection or if Pitch actually knew something Jack didn't. Maybe Pitch had gone to North's workshop to find North happily going about his business completely oblivious to the fact that Jack had not returned to his new bedroom. Maybe Pitch had watched Tooth and Sandy frantically working to collect all the children's teeth and give them all sweet dreams, too preoccupied with their jobs to notice that Jack hadn't come to visit them recently. Bunnymund wouldn't have noticed Jack's absence since Jack never visited the Warren. He and Bunny may have been on better terms since Jack had become a Guardian, but they weren't exactly friends. Whenever they met up at North's workshop, Bunnymund would often poke fun at Jack, calling him names like "Frosty" or "Frostbite" and tease him about how he should "be careful that ya don't freeze anything, mate!". Tooth had said that that was just how Bunny showed affection, but Jack was convinced that Bunnymund still harbored negative feelings for the newest Guardian.

Jack bowed his head. Pitch was most likely right and there really was nothing left out there for him. He was probably going to die soon anyway, he might as well just accept it. That was obviously what Pitch wanted. He wanted to break Jack down until he had no reason to live anymore. That was why he left Jack alone for so long with nothing but his worst fears to keep him company. As empty and alone as Jack felt, he could still feel that nagging sliver of hope that wouldn't go away no matter how much he told himself it was pointless. That hope, or if not hope at least a desire for someone, _anyone_, to want him and love him.

"Well, Jack? Are you going to answer me?" Pitch asked.

Jack looked up into Pitch's eyes. He was watching Jack with the same look a teacher might give a student who wasn't paying attention to the question being asked. Jack knew that Pitch hated him for refusing to join forces. Jack still didn't want to join Pitch, but he couldn't help but think back to what Pitch had said in Antarctica.

"_All those years in the shadows and I thought no one else knows what this feels like. But now I see that I was wrong."_

"I don't have all day, Jack," Pitch said looking more apathetic than annoyed. "Just give me an answer."

"I want you to let me out."

"That's not answering my question. I asked you why you wanted to leave when you have nothing left to live for," Pitch said.

"I…I don't want to be alone."

Pitch smirked. Jack narrowed his eyes.

"You'll be alone no matter what."

"Not if I'm with you."

Pitch lurched as if he had blown back by a gust of wind. His brow raised higher than Jack expected it to go. "What does that mean?" Pitch asked once he had recollected himself.

"If I walked around with you, I wouldn't be alone in this cage," Jack said plainly.

Pitch arched his brow.

"I want you to let me out so that…"

"No, I understand that," Pitch said holding up his hand to silence Jack. "But why me?"

"You and I are both lonely, right?" Jack asked. He could tell he had hit a nerve because the side of Pitch's face twitched at the word 'lonely'. "I figure you and I could keep each other company. This way it'll benefit you too…"

Pitch straightened out his back and glared down at Jack. "I see. It'll benefit both of us. Because it didn't benefit you back when I first reached out to you but now that you have nowhere else to go and no one else to go to, you turn to me."

Jack's mouth twisted and he averted his eyes from Pitch's.

"I already gave you that option, Jack, and you refused. I'm not going to give you a second chance just because your lonely. Besides I don't want your company anymore."

"But without me, the only company you have is them." Jack pointed to the night mares below. They were sniffing the air for signs of fear from either Jack or Pitch. Jack could practically see Pitch's heart sink at the sight of them.

Pitch's eyes snapped back to Jack like a whip and his glare went from terrified to bitter and angry. He stared at Jack long and hard, studying him, analyzing him. Jack was paler and weaker than he had been when Pitch first captured him. He looked so tiny in his cage and he was staring back at Pitch with his big, blue, lost puppy dog eyes. There was a small glimmer of hope left in Jack's eyes and Pitch could've so easily extinguished it and squashed Jack's spirit with a simple "no". All Pitch had to say was "no" and Jack would crumble and curl up into a ball and cry until he finally accepted the fact that he was left for dead and eventually disappear completely after all the children had lost faith in him. But Pitch didn't say no, couldn't for some reason. He took his eyes off of Jack for a brief moment and bit his lip.

"Here's the deal," Pitch said finally. Jack perked up and pushed himself upright to listen. "You cannot leave. Ever. Not that you'd be able to find the way out on your own, anyway, but don't even think about trying to escape." Pitch waited for Jack to nod before he continued. "You will stay by my side unless I tell you otherwise. If I tell you to stay put, you stay put. Don't touch anything unless I say it's alright. Is that clear?"

Jack nodded. "And if I do any of those things?"

Pitch sneered. "Then you'll wind up back here." He pointed to the cage.

Jack frowned and nodded.

Pitch stepped down from the cage he had been sitting on and landed on the one right underneath Jack. He unlocked the cage door and held out his hand. Jack reached forward and gripped Pitch's hand. Pitch yanked Jack out of the cage and before he even had time to think, Jack found himself face down on the floor beside the globe. He pushed himself up but immediately fell back down. Pitch came up behind him, grabbed him by the hood, and hoisted him in the air. He set Jack down on his feet but Jack's knees gave way and he fell into Pitch, wrapping his arms around Pitch's waist.

"Get off me!" Pitch snapped.

"I can't walk!" Jack said. "I can't walk, my legs are sore." He looked up at Pitch who was glowering down at him. Jack sunk into his shoulders.

Pitch slunk his arm around Jack's waist and hoisted the boy up to his hip. The night mares trotted up to Jack and began to sniff his hair. Pitch hissed at them and they backed down. Pitch gripped Jack's side tighter and dug his nails into his hoodie. Jack winched in pain and looked up at Pitch's face. His expression was cold, hard, and even more menacing when accentuated by shadows.

As Pitch led the boy down a dark hallway, Jack realized that staying in the cage would have been a better option.

_**Sorry this took so long. My only legitimate excuse is getting the stomach flu two weeks ago and not being able to move without wanting to puke. Other than that, it was just general laziness. I'd say schoolwork was a part of it, but it was mostly laziness.**_

_**I will say I'm glad I went back and edited this chapter. Originally, Jack hearing Pitch yelling at the night mares wasn't in here and so Pitch suddenly joining Jack after he said the night mares would be his only company seemed a little too abrupt. It would still make sense since the night mares attacked Pitch at the end of the movie, but I figured I needed to have some example of what Pitch was dealing with, even if we didn't exactly see it.**_

_**Anyway, I'll be getting to work on chapter 8 hopefully very soon so then I can upload chapter 4. Hope you enjoy. 8) **_


	4. Dinner

The hallway seemed to go on forever. Jack wrapped his arms tighter around Pitch for reassurance and Pitch dug his nails deeper into Jack's side. Jack hissed and winced and bit his lip when he felt Pitch's nail break through the fabric of his hoodie and dig into his skin. Jack buried his face in the crook of Pitch's neck. He could feel Pitch's neck muscles tighten in annoyance and Jack lifted his head.

Jack squinted when he saw a sliver of light at the end of the hall. The room they entered had a small window on the right wall that allowed light to enter. There was a small wooden table in the middle of the room with three legs holding it up. When they got closer Jack noticed that one end of the table looked rougher and more jagged than the other sides, like the table was originally longer but Pitch had broken the excess off when he realized he would never have guests.

Pitch dropped Jack to the floor. "Stay," he said pointing to Jack. With Jack on all fours, he felt like a dog at Pitch's feet.

Pitch walked around the table to take his seat.

"You eat?" Jack asked as Pitch picked up a fork.

"Of course I eat," Pitch said. "Don't you?"

"Not really. I mean, I don't _need_ to eat," Jack said. "Every now and then, I might find something like a candy bar or something left out in the street and eat it but I don't usually get hungry."

"So you eat off the ground?" Pitch asked.

"Only sometimes…"

"Here then," Pitch said throwing a bit of what looked like a dead bird's wing on the floor beside Jack. There were still feathers attached to it.

"I'm not hungry," Jack said pointedly.

Pitch smirked and went back to eating.

Jack licked his lip and swallowed hard. His throat was sore. He eyed a bottle sitting on the table.

"What's that?" Jack asked pointing to it.

"Wine."

"Never mind, then."

"What, you don't drink?"

"Not often."

"Why not?"

Jack shrugged.

"Are you a lightweight?"

Jack glared and Pitch laughed.

"What do you thinks' gonna happen, Jack? Afraid you'll run your mouth off? Or afraid you'll hurt someone?" Pitch looked down at Jack. They locked eyes and Jack could tell Pitch knew the answer. Pitch always knew peoples greatest fears.

"You've seen so many people get hurt at the hands of drunkards and you know how emotional you get, what with starting blizzards when being invisible became too much for you to bare, and you caused people to suffer from hypothermia and die." Pitch said it so nonchalantly, as if the thought of someone dying didn't affect him in the slightest. Jack remembered all the people he had watched die from the blizzards he'd caused. He felt the guilt sear through his chest and he twisted his face up to try and make the memory go away.

Pitch waited for Jack to respond, but the boy said nothing.

"Do you remember anything after you get drunk?" Pitch asked.

"Not always…"

"So you could've started a blizzard when you were drunk?"

Jack didn't answer. He just folded his arms and looked away.

"You're not very good at acknowledging when you've done something wrong, are you Jack?"

Jack still didn't look at Pitch.

"But what can you do now?" Pitch asked. "You're weak and you don't have your staff. The worst you'll do is yell at me and even if you lash out, I'll over power you."

Jack wasn't sure if this was Pitch's way of trying to make him feel better or worse; he had a feeling it was the latter.

"Here, grab a seat," Pitch said waving his hand in Jack's direction.

Jack was suddenly swept up by black smoke and forced into a sitting position across from where Pitch sat. The black smoke materialized into a chair underneath Jack and scooted him forward. Jack sucked in his gut when he came close to the jagged splinters protruding from his side of the table. Pitch poured the wine into a silver goblet and held it out for Jack to take.

"I don't want it."

"You said you were thirsty."

"I said I don't want it."

"Drink it."

"Why?"

"Because if you don't do what I tell you, you're going back in the cage."

Jack twitched angrily. Sitting alone in a cage didn't sound like such a bad idea right now. When Jack swallowed and felt his throat tighten up, he decided to take the goblet. He lifted it to his nose and smelled it. It smelled musty and Jack wrinkled his nose.

"Why do you want me to drink it?" Jack asked.

"Why don't you want to?"

"You know why I don't want to. Why do you want me to?"

"Because you don't want to," Pitch answered plainly, a smirk forming in the corner of his lips.

Jack rolled his eyes. That sounded about right. Jack looked down into the dark liquid and swirled it around in the goblet. Pitch chuckled as he watched Jack swirl, sniff, swirl, sniff, and then finally take a small sip. The liquid stung his dry throat and Jack pursed his lips but it at least tasted better then it smelled. Jack didn't love the taste of wine, but on the rare occasions when he was thirsty he didn't mind drinking out of unfinished wine bottles he found lying around outside.

So he drank as Pitch continued eating.

And then he drank some more.

And more.

And one more.

And maybe just one more.

And this would be the last one.

"I think you've had enough."

"No, c'mon. Just one more…"

Pitch grimaced as Jack thrust the goblet in his face.

"C'mon. Don't be stingy…"

Pitch obliged. Jack reached out for the bottle but Pitch held it back and thrust the goblet back into Jack's hands.

"So anyway…"

Jack had also started talking. A lot. Mostly about the Guardians.

"…so we're at this meeting together, this was about a…about a week or so after Easter. So we're just talking about if Pitch comes… if _you_ come back!" Jack threw his arm out at Pitch causing the Nightmare King to flinch and drop his utensils. He picked up his fork as Jack continued. "So if you came back…if you tried to, you know, _kill us_ again, what would we do. Uhm, yeah, and I was eating somethi-I actually ate something that day!" Jack seemed proud of himself. Pitch pretended to be impressed and smiled and then rolled his eyes and went back to eating. "And I was using a fork, like you are, but not a knife life-like you are…" Pitch started to consider doing a few things with his knife besides eating. "And I guess I was holding it wrong 'cause the Eater Bunny, you know Bunny! The Easter Bunny started laughing and was all "That's not how ya hold a fork, mate"." Pitch twisted his mouth in disapproval at Jack's horrible attempt at an Australian accent.

"Like, like whaddyou expect, man? It's not like I've ever eaten with forks and knives before," Jack said as he began tipping slowly to the side. Pitch made a pointed motion with his index finger and black smoke pushed Jack upright. "It's like, wow, sorry I'm not as sophisticated as you Bunny! I mean, he wasn't even using a fork and a knife like what does he know. I think-I think he just looks for things I'm doing wrong all the time, y'know? Like, "jus' be sure you don't freeze anything, mate" like he thinks I can't control myself from freezing things! I know what I'm doing!"

Jack burped and Pitch waved his hand in front of his nose. He was starting to think he should've just left Jack on the floor with nothing to drink.

"According to him, to Bunny, I don't know how to do anything."

"Did he say that to you?"

"No. But I know that's what he thinks. I've seen the way he looks at me. I've seen the way he's always watching me, waiting for me to-" Jack burped. "-to mess up. I mean, like, he always jokes about me freezing something over it's like, would you get over it! So I caused a few blizzards and ruined Easter in some places but it was still spring in other par-parts of the world."

Jack leaned back in his seat and looked up at the ceiling. There was a iron chandelier with a few crystals hanging off the end that vaguely glittered in the faint light coming from the window. Pitch, who had been trying to block out Jack's incessant rambling, tilted his head to the side trying to get a better glimpse of the expression on Jack's face. His interest in the boy's story had peaked once the Easter Bunny was mentioned. Pitch knew all too well that Bunnymund was one to hold a grudge.

"Funny," Pitch said causing Jack's head to perk up. "How the Easter Rabbit's the Guardian of Hope and new beginnings and yet he can't seem to let things go." Pitch chuckled.

Jack sat up abruptly, throwing his arm out. "Right?!" Pitch jumped at Jack's outburst. "He can't just let things go! That's why I don't visit his warren 'cause if I break one of his eggs or I don't paint it right…heh…"that's not how you hold a paintbrush, mate", meh. He'd never let me visit him again anyway so why bother going?"

"You think you'd mess something up?"

"I think he'd find something I did wrong…"

"But you wouldn't do anything wrong? You wouldn't make any mistakes?"

"Well, I'm not saying I'm perfect…"

"That's good. Because you're not."

"Gee, thanks."

"No one's perfect, Jack."

"That still doesn't make me feel better."

"Who says I'm trying to make you feel better?" Pitch smirked.

Jack rolled his eyes and took a drink. His eyes crossed for a moment and then he shook his head. He leaned back and ran his free hand along the arm of his chair. It was smooth and surprisingly solid despite having been made out of shadows. The chair was comfortable after having been stuck sitting in a cage for so long. Jack stretched his back out and seethed in pain when he felt his muscles pull. He slowly bent over and rested his elbows on the table. He looked up at Pitch, who had been silently watching him with mild fascination. Jack wasn't sure what exactly was so interesting but assumed Pitch was enjoying Jack's pain.

"Well," Jack said as he brought his hand to his now throbbing forehead. "Even if you're not trying to make me feel better, thanks for at least letting me talk."

Pitch said nothing and looked away from Jack.

"I mean, I've tried talking to the Guardians about stuff," Jack said. "I used to talk to Sandy about stuff a long time ago but he was always busy so I hardly saw him. I still go to visit him sometimes but I don't talk to him about my problems anymore, I don't want to bother him." Jack's lower lip quivered. A lump formed in his throat and he swallowed hard. His throat was still pretty sore. "I've tried talking to Tooth about stuff but she's always busy, sometimes I don't think she even notices when I show up and take my teeth. I mean, I don't run away with them or anything! I stay at her palace when I look at my memories. I tried talking to North about the Man in the Moon once and he started going on about how great and wise and whatever 'Manny' was so that conversation didn't go anywhere." Jack laughed bitterly.

"North got me a bedroom at his place, and I want to think that he did it because he cares about me but I just feel like-like maybe he-" Jack's eyes crossed and he pursed his lips and scrunched his nose. He covered his mouth and waited for the feeling of throwing up to go away before continuing. "Maybe he wants to keep me around 'cause he wants to keep an eye on me because he thinks I'm gonna do something wrong. Like I said, I know Bunny always thinks I'm gonna do something wrong. And I really want to try talking to him, I don't hate him, I wanna be his friend. I've always wanted to be his friend but he just doesn't like me…he doesn't care about me. Nobody cares about me…"

Jack couldn't hold the tears back anymore.

"Oh my God." Pitch rolled his eyes and threw down his utensils. "Jack, the Guardians don't care about anyone."

Jack looked up, tears streaming down his face. His head was pounding and he had set down the goblet in order to grip his forehead with both hands. "What?"

"They're only concerned about a bunch of snot-nosed brats who they've never even met! They put all their time and effort in protecting children's _innocence_ and _happiness_." Pitch had suddenly become very animated, using his hands excessively. "They waste their lives away to make sure that children have a toy or an egg or a coin under their pillow. But you know what's gonna happen? The kids are gonna lose interest in that toy after about a month, and that eggs gonna go bad by the next day, and the kids are gonna go out and spend that quarter on some hard candy that's gonna ruin those precious teeth she loves so much."

Jack shuddered.

"But they do it anyway. They still work day and night to make sure that children have that brief shining moment of joy because they can't even imagine what their life would be like if they couldn't bring joy to children so they've based their very existence on the belief these kids have in them. And now they've roped you into it."

Jack lifted his head and winced at the sharp pang at his temple.

"And now that you're a Guardian, you've given your life to these children and there's nothing you can do to change that. All you can do is hope that they'll continue to believe in you, but that'll only last you so long."

Jack's chest sunk in and he closed his eyes, bowing his head in defeat. "Yeah." He hummed a laugh, a fleeting smile flashed across his face. "Wonder how long I'll still be here," he muttered.

"Depends on whether or not the children still believe in you."

"Yeah, I get that," Jack said.

"I'm not finished. You still have believers, obviously, or else you wouldn't still be here. All I have to do is keep it rooted in their minds that you're still out there somewhere and they won't have any reason to stop believing," Pitch said.

Jack's jaw dropped. "Wait. You'll make sure that kids still believe in me?"

"Well, I can't keep you here if you're not around to stay, right?" Pitch chuckled as he started to re-cork the wine bottle.

"You'd really do that?" Jack asked.

Pitch nodded without looking Jack's way.

There was obviously a catch. Jack wasn't going to be allowed to leave and Pitch was only willing to help so that he wouldn't be left alone with the night mares again, but Jack didn't think about that. After being stuck in a small dark space with nothing but his worst fears eating away at him for what felt like an eternity, this small act of kindness had considerably lifted Jack's spirits.

Without thinking, Jack reached out and took Pitch's hand in his own. Pitch's eyes darted from the wine bottle to Jack's hand over his own. They locked eyes for a moment and Pitch became increasingly uncomfortable with how genuinely grateful Jack looked.

"Thank you," Jack whispered.

Pitch looked back down at their hands and nervously bit his lip. He looked back up at Jack who was smiling at him. Pitch slowly slipped his hand out of Jack's grasp. He reached out for the goblet and took it back. "I think you've had enough to drink, Jack."

Jack laughed. "Seriously, though. Thank you. It-it means a lot."

"Mm, hm," Pitch hummed and he popped a shriveled berry into his mouth.

"Really. I mean, I know you don't care about me all that much, but…"

Pitch snorted. "I don't care about you at all, Jack. I don't care about anyone."

Jack pouted. He leaned forward only for his elbows to slip out from under him, catapulting his head forward and hitting the table. He muttered a small "ow" into the table and Pitch rolled his eyes. He pushed his seat back, stood up, and walked around the table to pick Jack up by his hood.

"I think it's time you went to bed, Jack."

Jack's chair dissolved into shadowy mist and Pitch dragged Jack out of the dining room.

"My head hurts," Jack moaned.

"I'm sure it does."

"I feel like a slug."

"You are a slug, Jack."

Jack's head hung limply as Pitch dragged him into his bedroom. There were no windows but light came from a fireplace on the right wall. Jack couldn't see anything else because Pitch had dropped him face first onto the bed.

"This is my bed but you can use it for now."

Jack rolled onto his side. He could make out Pitch's silhouette from the light in the fire place but otherwise, Pitch's face was covered in shadow. Pitch began to walk away but Jack reached out and grabbed the Boogeyman's arm.

Pitch wheeled around and glared at Jack.

"Will you stay?" Jack asked.

Pitch sneered. "Why?"

Jack said nothing. They both knew why.

Jack's hand slide down Pitch's arm and into Pitch's palm. Jack's hand was cool against Pitch's warmer skin.

"I don't think you'd get much rest with me around. I'll just give you nightmares."

"You gave me nightmares even when you weren't around," Jack said.

Pitch hummed in amusement.

"Please?"

Pitch sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. Jack looked up helplessly at Pitch for a while before letting his head drop against the pillow. It was softer, somehow, than the pillows in his room at North's workshop, or perhaps Jack had long since forgotten how those pillows felt in his time trapped behind iron bars. There was a sudden, fleeting image in Jack's mind of North sitting on Jack's empty bed, hunched over with his face in his hands. He seemed to be crying, or at least trying to hold back tears. Jack wondered if this was real or if he simply wanted to believe North missed him.

Jack squeezed Pitch's hand and pulled it close to his chest. Pitch winced and tried to wriggled his hand free. Feeling Pitch try to break free, Jack sighed sadly and released his grip. Pitch paused when he felt Jack loosen his grip. He began to slowly moved his fingers along Jack's palm before he laced both their fingers together.

A smile formed across Jack's face and he looked up at Pitch. Pitch scowled at Jack's beaming face.

"Go to sleep, Jack."

Jack's smile wavered before he let his head fall back on the pillow and close his eyes. Pitch unlaced his fingers from Jack's but never let go of the boy's hand. Holding hands was a foreign thing to Pitch. He had seen people do it but he had never done it himself. It was a strange feeling; slightly uncomfortable because he wasn't used to it, but he liked it. He liked the fact that there was somebody _there_. It was just unfortunate that that somebody had to be Jack. Pitch really didn't owe Jack anything; the boy had wanted nothing to do with him.

Jack rubbed his thumb along the back of Pitch's hand and peeked through one eye to see Pitch staring angrily at the floor.

"Pitch…"

"Go-to-sleep-Jack."

"I'm sorry."

Pitch looked at Jack.

"You-you can go if you want…"

"Thank you so much for giving me permission, Jack," Pitch said sarcastically.

Jack lowered his gaze to the floor. He looked back up when he realized Pitch wasn't walking away.

"Pitch?"

"What?" Pitch snapped.

"You don't have to stay here with me if you don't want."

"I know."

Jack's eyebrows furrowed. Did Pitch want to stay with him? Jack decided to not bother asking and closed his eyes. He pulled Pitch's hand closer to his chest and began to drift off.

Jack wasn't freezing cold, but Pitch could feel that his hand was starting to go numb. Pitch wanted to laugh at the way Jack coddled Pitch's hand to his body the way a child would with a stuffed animal. It should have been funny how desperate for interaction Jack was that he would be holding his enemy's hand this way. Pitch couldn't laugh because deep down he knew he wanted this as much as Jack did. He was just as lonely and starved for affection as Jack was.

Jack curled into himself and Pitch felt the tip of Jack's nose rub against his index finger. Pitch knew if Jack held on any longer, Pitch would start to lose feeling in his hand. After a brief hesitation, Pitch's hand evaporated into shadows and slipped out of Jack's grip. Jack mumbled but seemed otherwise unaffected.

Pitch stood up and rubbed his hands together. He blew on his hands before rubbing again and looked over at Jack. He was mumbling something in his sleep but Pitch couldn't hear what he was saying. Pitch hovered over Jack, trying to hear him. He leaned in closer and closer until he could barely make out:

"Come back."

At least that's what it sounded like.

Pitch gently moved a few strands of hair out of Jack's face. Jack shuddered but never opened his eyes. He was fast asleep.

Jack continued to murmur in his sleep. Pitch rubbed his fingers together. He could feel something twist inside his chest, and he couldn't help himself from rubbing Jack's back or from leaning in closer, his lips dangerously close to Jack's temple as though he was about to kiss the boy goodnight. Jack mumbled something that sounded like: "Don't leave." Pitch flinched and bolted upright.

He looked down at his hand and then back at Jack. Jack curled his fingers around the edge of his sleeve and whimpered softly into the covers. He started curling into himself. There was a horrible memory itching at the back of Pitch's mind when he had done something similar on a night where the loneliness was too much to bear.

Pitch snarled and began walking away. The whimpering was getting louder. Jack was trembling and muttering something under his breath.

Pitch knew that Jack was scared; scared of being left alone again. He wanted to just leave Jack like this, he should've been enjoying Jack's pain.

"Pitch…"

It was small and quiet but Pitch heard it. He growled and threw his head back in annoyance. He sat back on the edge of the bed and began rubbing Jack's back again. Jack's lip quivered but his crying started to die down. He continued to mumble tiny words into the bed sheets but Pitch couldn't hear them. He leaned over to listen better.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

At this point, Pitch wasn't sure if Jack was really asleep or not. He waved his free hand in front of Jack's face but Jack didn't flinch. He must've been half-asleep.

"I'm sorry…"

"Shh…quiet Jack."

Pitch pressed his hand into Jack's back and rubbed it in circular motions. Jack's eyebrows pinched once the physical contact had registered and he relaxed. Pitch ghosted his hand along Jack's hair and paused at the back of Jack's neck.

Pitch wouldn't give Jack any nightmares, not tonight at least. He would let Jack rest, for now.

_Okay, I'm cheating a little bit. I've barely even begun chapter 8 but I figured I'd update since it's been a month since my last update and with summer school starting tomorrow, I probably won't have much time to work on the next few chapters so…here ya go!_

_This chapter was mainly about getting a dialog started between Jack and Pitch and getting Pitch to kind of sort of like Jack a little bit. I'm sure there was some other way to do it, but I really wanted to get Jack drunk for some reason so this was the result. I think it works out though, what about you guys?_

_One of the reviewers, Lex, had asked whether this was going to turn into a Jack/Pitch story or if it would remain general. The story will focus on Jack and Pitch's platonic relationship. The two of them will get…urm…intimate later but not in a sexual way._

_Enjoy. I'll hopefully be able to get to working on chapters 8 and 9 before the end of June. :)_


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